The latest on California politics and government

December 19, 2011

Will Americans Elect qualify for next June's presidential primary in California?

The Washington, D.C.-based organization is pushing for a national online convention next June to pick a bipartisan ticket to run in November. The group began submitting voter signatures to California election officials last summer in hopes of getting qualified for the June primary as a recognized political body.

Raw count? More than 1.6 million.

The group didn't qualify last month under a random sample of signatures to determine how many were valid, so county election officials had to go back to do a full check.

Those officials have until today to report the results to Secretary of State Debra Bowen. Her office will have until Friday to compile that information in order to determine whether the group makes the cut.

When the Bee's Torey Van Oot profiled the group in this story back in July, the group's chief operating officer, Elliot Ackerman, said it had no specific candidate or candidate mold in mind. She writes:

Instead of adhering to a political platform or ideology, candidates seeking the nomination would have to answer a list of questions that site users generate. The nominee chosen at the convention - open to registered voters of all parties who sign up online - would have to pick a running mate from another party as the ticket's vice presidential candidate.

Click here to see a spreadsheet of the numbers reported by each county. Read Bee columnist Dan Morain's take on the group's effort at this link.

HOLIDAY MUSIC: Today's musical offerings at the Capitol rotunda bring Yolo County's performers into Sacramento, with the Davis Chorale at noon and the Davis Children's Chorus at 12:30 p.m. Click here to read the rest of the schedule through Friday.

STATE WORKER: Don't miss out on the latest in state worker news -- sign up for State Worker News Alerts. Go to The State Worker blog, and sign up via the blue box on the screen.